Las Crucen with Parkinson's leads outcry against city chemical use

Parkinson's sufferer John Hamilton urges the Las Cruces City Council to halt the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides during a work session on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018.(Photo: Blake Gumprecht/Sun-News)Buy Photo

LAS CRUCES - A crowd dulled by 75 minutes of discussion about the city’s integrated pest management program, which even inspired the mayor to leave his seat to get a cup of coffee, was quickly shaken awake Monday night by an impassioned plea from a Las Crucen suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

Blaming his Parkinson’s on exposure to pesticides, John Hamilton, 73, urged the Las Cruces City Council at a work session on Monday to halt the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides on parks, athletic fields and other public places.

“Why do you risk our health by using these products?” Hamilton said. “Do not make us the burden of your desire to have green grass.”

Hamilton made his comments after Franco Granillo, the city’s acting parks administrator, made a presentation on the city’s pest management program and responded to questions from councilors on various aspects of that program.

But the mood quickly changed when Hamilton spoke, his hands shaking from the effects of Parkinson’s, his anger palpable.

Hamilton said he was exposed to DDT as a youngster when the chemical was commonly used to combat mosquitoes. He said he was exposed to it again while serving in the military in Cuba.

He noted that DDT was once considered safe and that scientists recommended that it be sprayed on crops. DDT was later found to cause cancer and was banned in the United States in 1972. Studies have also linked DDT exposure to increased risk of Parkinson’s.

Hamilton’s wrath was also directed toward the herbicide Roundup, widely used in agriculture and lawn care. It's legal and used by the city of Las Cruces, even though the World Health Organization said it is "probably carcinogenic" and California added it to the state’s official list of cancer-causing chemicals.

The city uses Roundup, plus two other chemicals, on road medians, rights of ways, along trails, and in alleys. It also uses chemicals on athletic fields, but Granillo said the city does not spray herbicides or pesticides on parks and playgrounds except in rare instances when other pest management methods don’t work.

But Hamilton took issue with Granillo, who stated that Roundup is much less expensive than organic herbicides such as Avenger, which uses the citric acid from oranges.

“I just spent four-and-a-half days in the hospital,” Hamilton said. “Who came to me and said, 'How much does it cost you, Mr. Hamilton, when you go to the hospital?'”

Hamilton was followed to the podium by five other people who spoke out against the city’s use of chemical pesticides and herbicides.

“Please let’s think about this in a holistic way,” said Kari Bachman, director of Doña Ana Communities United, “not just about the application and how much it costs us, but what are the costs down the road.”

State Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, who is southern New Mexico director for the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, urged councilors to conduct a “robust review” of the city’s use of chemicals and recommend that it put together an advisory committee on the subject.

“I would urge the city to take a very conservative approach to the application of these chemicals,” he said. “If something is known to harm human health, why would we expose our citizens to that?”

Hamilton, in fact, worked with the city so that it would stop spraying herbicides in the West Gallagher Mini Park. Now a group organized by Hamilton weeds the park by hand and no chemicals are used. The city still prunes trees, provides irrigation and maintains equipment in the park.

“We really see it as a model for something that can happen in other parts of the city,” Bachman said.

After Hamilton and other members of the public spoke, Mayor Ken Miyagishima, for one, seemed to have been persuaded that the city should reconsider its use of chemicals.

Miyagishima asked City Manager Stuart Ed to put together a cost comparison, showing the city’s current spending for chemical pesticides and herbicides, and what the cost would be to replace them with organic substitutes.

He said the city should more clearly provide information on its website about which chemicals it uses and where they are sprayed. He suggested that the city create more a coherent policy about safe use of chemicals by city employees.